1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved feeding apparatus for a sheet-like material, and more particularly to such a feeding apparatus which can be most advantageously used for the production of paper or non-woven fabric of regenerated cellulose fibers, such as proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,281. Especially, the feeding apparatus of the present invention can be advantageously used for the feeding to a shrinking step or subsequent treating steps, such as regenerating, washing, bleaching, and the like, of a web obtained by cutting fibers containing hydroxymethyl cellulose xanthate, forming the thus cut fibers into a web by a wet method and subjecting the wet web so obtained to heating and compressing treatments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, the swing method has been widely employed for overfeeding a wide sheet-like material into a liquid or onto a conveyor. However, according to this method, there is the problem that the position or shape of the sheet-like material being so fed becomes markedly unstable. Besides the swing method, a method by which a sheet-like material is fed together with a liquid stream has also been employed. According to this method, it is possible to surely feed a sheet to a certain position in accordance with the increase in flow rate of the liquid in the case of the passage of the sheet and the liquid being wide, but there are still problems involving the shape of the sheet becoming extremely unstable and even rope-like in extreme cases.